STUDY ON FEEDING HABITS OF RED-FIN PARGO, PARARGYROPS EDITA, IN SOUTH FUJIAN AND TAIWAN BANK FISHING GROUND

The present paper is a report on the feeding habits, seasonal variations of food contents and feeding intensity, and the relationships between the digestive organs and feeding habits of Red-fin pargo, Parargyrops edita (from 39 to 178 mm in body length), collected from South Fujian and Taiwan Bank fishing ground. The result shows that Red-fin pargo is a demersal fish with wide range of food items of which are chiefly benthos and secondly nekton and plankton. Polychaeta, Ophiuroi-dea, Gammaridea, Pisces, Macrura, Ostracoda, Cephalopoda and Mysidacea are important food for both young and adult. The composition of food items varies with seasons. The feeding habits of the fish over 39 mm in body length do not vary with its age, but the adult take more Pisces and Cephalopoda than the young. The feeding intensity is the highest in spring and the lowest during winter. The feeding behavior is also closely related to its reproductive activity and the digestive organs are found to be adapted to its euryphagy.